New centers are not the solution- infrastructure is still lacking
Pellerin July 2007 (Cheryl, staff writer, USINFO, July 2, Dr. Scott Dowell- CDC director of global disease detection and emergency response, “Global Disease Detection Program Key Part of Worldwide Network,” http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=July&x=20070702154502lcnirellep0.4805261)
On June 15, the revised International Health Regulations became effective, bringing a comprehensive set of rules and procedures into force for WHO and its member states, and changing the way the global community responds to infectious disease threats. The revisions updated 1969 regulations that addressed only cholera, plague, yellow fever and smallpox, a disease now eradicated. Most countries have adopted the revised regulations as legally binding rules to contain disease threats like avian influenza and SARS that could spread rapidly from country to country. The regulations have been the focus of discussions among GDD and WHO about the degree to which the GDD centers can be used to help implement the new regulations. The regulations “put a big burden on countries,” Dowell said. “In many ways, they require all member states to be able to detect new outbreaks, report them right away and contain them,” but many do not have the resources or expertise to do so.“Positioning these well-resourced GDD centers in different regions is not the whole answer,” Dowell added, “but we hope it’s a contribution toward that.”
Expensive and inefficient tests prevent accurate and thorough diagnosis
Ngandwe and Tallaksen 06 (Talent and Eva, December 8, “Better diagnostics could save thousands of lives,” SciDev Net, http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=3274&language=1)
Improving people's access to tests for the major diseases of the developing world and making the tests more accurate could save hundreds of thousands of lives, say researchers. Millions of people in developing countries die each year from illnesses that are preventable or treatable because the diagnostic tests are too expensive, complex or inefficient to use.
Workers lack understanding of the data surveillance gathers
Wilson 03 (James M. MD, adjunct professor @ Georgetown University Medical Center, “USE OF SATELLITE IMAGERY FOR EPIDEMIC SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE,” February 12, http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/55300.pdf)
Much of the excitement generated in the early days of RSEPI research revolved around the notion of forecasting disease or forecasting human morbidity and mortality. This description placed undue emphasis and reliance on the data by public health officers and physicians who lacked the training to understand the limitations of the data and the manner in which it is produced. Epidemic triggering and propagation is the result of a complex interaction between a multitude of variables such as the type of pathogen involved, immunity of the effected population, where the pathogen is transmitted by a vector, meteorological parameters, and so on. RSEPI systems have the potential to monitor one or a couple of these variables but not all of them. Without a comprehensive analytic system that can draw upon all of the variables involved, .forecasting. will remain an elusive and perhaps unrealistic goal.
CDC is experiencing healthcare worker shortages
CDC Professional Judgement for FY 2008, 07 (April 20, 2007, http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:HhrP_D_0_to J:www.fundcdc.org/documents/CDCFY2008PJ_000.pdf+cdc+personnel+shortages+%2B+global+disease+detection&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us) The problem is replicated throughout the entire public health system - 40% of the nation’s public health workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next 5 years and many states are already experiencing chronic shortages of epidemiologists, nurses, laboratorians, program staff and managers. CDC must have a capable, agile workforce that can learn, adapt, and perform — often at an extremely rapid pace, and must also do more to support the training and development of its state and local counterparts. CDC is initiating a Strategic Human Capital Management Plan that will require investments in Workforce Planning, Leadership & Knowledge Management, Diversity, and Talent Management through Fellowship training programs, pipeline programs, expansion of electronic learning capability, and expanded support for the CDC Corporate University in-house development and training for existing personnel.
New centers are not the solution- infrastructure is still lacking
Pellerin July 2007 (Cheryl, staff writer, USINFO, July 2, Dr. Scott Dowell- CDC director of global disease detection and emergency response, “Global Disease Detection Program Key Part of Worldwide Network,” http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=July&x=20070702154502lcnirellep0.4805261)On June 15, the revised International Health Regulations became effective, bringing a comprehensive set of rules and procedures into force for WHO and its member states, and changing the way the global community responds to infectious disease threats. The revisions updated 1969 regulations that addressed only cholera, plague, yellow fever and smallpox, a disease now eradicated. Most countries have adopted the revised regulations as legally binding rules to contain disease threats like avian influenza and SARS that could spread rapidly from country to country. The regulations have been the focus of discussions among GDD and WHO about the degree to which the GDD centers can be used to help implement the new regulations. The regulations “put a big burden on countries,” Dowell said. “In many ways, they require all member states to be able to detect new outbreaks, report them right away and contain them,” but many do not have the resources or expertise to do so. “Positioning these well-resourced GDD centers in different regions is not the whole answer,” Dowell added, “but we hope it’s a contribution toward that.”
Expensive and inefficient tests prevent accurate and thorough diagnosis
Ngandwe and Tallaksen 06 (Talent and Eva, December 8, “Better diagnostics could save thousands of lives,” SciDev Net, http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=3274&language=1)Improving people's access to tests for the major diseases of the developing world and making the tests more accurate could save hundreds of thousands of lives, say researchers. Millions of people in developing countries die each year from illnesses that are preventable or treatable because the diagnostic tests are too expensive, complex or inefficient to use.
Workers lack understanding of the data surveillance gathers
Wilson 03 (James M. MD, adjunct professor @ Georgetown University Medical Center, “USE OF SATELLITE IMAGERY FOR EPIDEMIC SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE,” February 12, http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/55300.pdf)Much of the excitement generated in the early days of RSEPI research revolved around the notion of forecasting disease or forecasting human morbidity and mortality. This description placed undue emphasis and reliance on the data by public health officers and physicians who lacked the training to understand the limitations of the data and the manner in which it is produced. Epidemic triggering and propagation is the result of a complex interaction between a multitude of variables such as the type of pathogen involved, immunity of the effected population, where the pathogen is transmitted by a vector, meteorological parameters, and so on. RSEPI systems have the potential to monitor one or a couple of these variables but not all of them. Without a comprehensive analytic system that can draw upon all of the variables involved, .forecasting. will remain an elusive and perhaps unrealistic goal.
CDC is experiencing healthcare worker shortages
CDC Professional Judgement for FY 2008, 07 (April 20, 2007, http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:HhrP_D_0_to J:www.fundcdc.org/documents/CDCFY2008PJ_000.pdf+cdc+personnel+shortages+%2B+global+disease+detection&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us)The problem is replicated throughout the entire public health system - 40% of the nation’s public health workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next 5 years and many states are already experiencing chronic shortages of epidemiologists, nurses, laboratorians, program staff and managers. CDC must have a capable, agile workforce that can learn, adapt, and perform — often at an extremely rapid pace, and must also do more to support the training and development of its state and local counterparts. CDC is initiating a Strategic Human Capital Management Plan that will require investments in Workforce Planning, Leadership & Knowledge Management, Diversity, and Talent Management through Fellowship training programs, pipeline programs, expansion of electronic learning capability, and expanded support for the CDC Corporate University in-house development and training for existing personnel.